Vapour-Eyes

An archetype of LIGHT and DARK Dragon Monsters, revolving around Xyz Summoning high-Rank Xyz Monsters through Rank-Up Xyz Evolution, inspired by the original Galaxy-Eyes^↗ archetype. It is closely related to the Lightning archetype.

Cards

type	count
Synchro	x1
Xyz	x8

Monsters

Main Deck

card	Level	ATK/DEF	Type	Attribute
Vapour-Eyes Dragon	9 ★★★★★★★★★	2500 / 2000		LIGHT

Extra Deck

card	Level	ATK/DEF	Type	Attribute	Material
Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon	9 ★★★★★★★★★	3000 / 2500	Xyz	LIGHT	2 Level 9 LIGHT Monsters
Neo Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon	10 ★★★★★★★★★★	4000 / 3000	Xyz	LIGHT	2 Level 10 LIGHT Monsters
Ultimate Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon	11 ★★★★★★★★★★★	4500 / 4000	Xyz	LIGHT	2 Level 11 LIGHT Monsters
Neo Ultimate Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon	12 ★★★★★★★★★★★★	5000 / –	Xyz	LIGHT	2 Level 12 LIGHT Monsters
Vapour-Eyes Arc Lightning Dragon	10 ★★★★★★★★★★	3000 / 3000	Xyz	DARK	3 Level 10 DARK Monsters
Neo Vapour-Eyes Arc Lightning Dragon	11 ★★★★★★★★★★★	3300 / 3000	Xyz	DARK	3 Level 11 DARK Monsters
Ultimate Vapour-Eyes Arc Lightning Dragon	12 ★★★★★★★★★★★★	3600 / –	Xyz	DARK	3 Level 12 DARK Monsters
Neo Ultimate Vapour-Eyes Arc Lightning Dragon	13 ★★★★★★★★★★★★★	? / –	Xyz	DARK	3 Level 13 DARK Monsters
Vapour-Eyes Absolute Dragon	9 ★★★★★★★★★	2700 / 2500	Synchro	LIGHT	–

Traps

display

card	property
Vapourizing Lightning	↵ Counter

Overview

Lightning

The 4 ‘Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon’ LIGHT Xyz Monsters span Ranks 9~12, requiring 2 or more LIGHT Materials. They feature mass Monster wipeout Ignition Effects that can be activated during the player’s Main or Battle Phase.

Once per turn, during your Main or Battle Phase: You can detach 1 Material; […] all Monsters your opponent controls, also inflict […] damage for each […].

Since these correspond to the Monsters’ actual attacks, this prevents them from attacking directly in the same turn.

This card cannot attack directly during the turn you use this effect.

As they rank up, their effects becomes increasingly devastating.

Monster	Lightning	Neo Lightning	Ultimate Lightning	Neo Ultimate Lightning
card
removal	target + destroy	destroy	send to Grave	banish
damage	300	600	900	1200
protection		detach material to prevent effect destruction	detach material to prevent destruction	effect destruction immunity

Arc Lightning

The 4 ‘Vapour-Eyes Arc Lightning Dragon’ Xyz Monsters are DARK counterparts, each 1 Rank higher and requiring 3 DARK Materials – which means the final ace is, indeed, Rank 13. Their effects are even more destructive, destroying Spell and Traps in addition to Monsters, including the player’s own cards, while boosting their own ATK and preventing responses.

Once per turn, during your Main or Battle Phase: You can detach 1 Material, then […]; Destroy all other […] on the field, also this card gains […] ATK for each destroyed until the end of this turn.

However, keeping in anime spirit, these effects can only be activated and resolved while the player’s LP are lower than 4000. Unlike the LIGHT Xyz Monsters, the DARK Xyz Monsters can attack directly in the same turn, to deal critical damage with their charged ATK.

You must have […] or less LP to activate and resolve this effect.

Monster	Arc Lightning	Neo	Ultimate	Neo Ultimate
card
destruction	target + destroy M/S/T	reveal + destroy M/S/T	all other cards	absorb all other cards
boost	+500	+600	+700	depends on attached Materials
LP	4000-	2000-	1000-	<1000
response lock	targeted cards	declared types	on field	total

Level 9 Dragons

The Level 9 Main Deck Monster Vapour-Eyes Dragon has a similar Summoning condition to Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon, although is difficult to reach without effective support from Lightning Monsters. It has no impactful effects itself, but once in circulation can repetitively cycle bodies on board, for extra Material or damage. It also grants protection to any LIGHT Xyz Monsters it is attached to.

The Level 9 Synchro Monster Vapour-Eyes Absolute Dragon provides a valuable support option, able to search much-needed Rank-Up-Magic Spells (even multiple in one turn), as well as a powerful protective effect to any Vapour-Eyes Xyz Monster it is attached to. A Level 0 Lightning Orb and any Level 9 Monster (such as Vapour-Eyes Dragon or a Lightning Wing) can easily Synchro Summon it.

Rank-Up

Although not within the archetype, the Rank-Up-Magic and Evolution Spells are core to its functionality, ranking up the Xyz Dragons into their stronger evolutions.

There are 6 rankup cards, each proving useful in different situations. The Rank-Up-Magics that rankup from the field can use any Xyz Monster on either player’s field, as long as you own it – this way, a stolen ace Monster can easily be recovered. Similarly, those that rankup from the Grave can use Xyz Monsters in either player’s Graveyard, although rarely does the opponent have sufficiently high-Rank Xyz Monsters for this to be effective.

• Lightning Rise is most generic and stellar option, with great versatility and recursability. However, while it can rankup into DARK Xyz Monsters, it cannot rank then those Monsters up further (since it requires a LIGHT Monster as a target).
• Vapour Rise ranks up from the Grave, attaches itself as extra Material, and can even further revive an Xyz Monster to kickstart a comeback.
• Lightning Ascension is excellent for OTKs, ranking up by 2 Ranks to access more powerful effects and higher ATK. It can even rankup into any LIGHT Xyz Monster, although there aren’t any great non-archetypal options right now. Losing the rankup at the end of the turn can be prevented by just ranking up the Monster again, ending with a +3 rankup in one turn.
• Lightning Arc Rise facilitate the DARK Xyz Monster’s effects by lowering your LP, but is otherwise inferior to Vapour Rise. The critical difference lies in Lightning Arc Rise preventing responses, which can make all the difference in a comeback.
• Neo Evolution has a Monster to rankup into for any Rank, but can be difficult to use properly. It does provide nifty targeting immunity to the ranked up Monster, but this importantly prevents further rankups (since Rank-Up cards always target).
• Ultimate Evolution is the most powerful rankup card, totally preventing responses and having flexible rankup options. As such, it also has the harshest restrictions – requiring you to only control 1 Xyz Monster, and locking other Summons from the Extra Deck for the rest of the turn.

rankup	Lightning Rise	Vapour Rise	Lightning Ascension	Lightning Arc Rise	Neo Evolution	Ultimate Evolution
card
target	LIGHT on either field	LIGHT in either Grave	Lightning on either field	LIGHT/DARK in either Grave	your Xyz	your only Xyz
evolution	Lightning Xyz	Vapour-Eyes Xyz	LIGHT Xyz	Arc Xyz	Neo Xyz	Ultimate Xyz
rankup	+1	+1	+2 / +1	+1 / -1	+1	+2 / +1
notes	can recurse each turn	can revive fallen Xyz	ranks up until end of turn	locks responses	locks targeting for rest of turn	locks Special Summons for rest of turn

Counter Trap

Again, the Counter Trap is not strictly part of the archetype, but very closely related. Its effect has the potency to be extremely powerful, although is only defensive. Take it to be a variation of the Lightning Xyz Monsters’ effects that can activate during the opponent’s turn and doesn’t trigger floating effects. If really necessary, it can be activated in response to a rankup card, negating it to drop a (hopefully) well-timed wipeout.

Strategics

Since the Xyz Monsters cannot use their effects during the opponent’s turn, the focus of the deck is to protect them until your turn, when they can utterly dismantle the opponent’s board. The rankup cards are vital for protecting the ace from targeting effects, by ranking them up before the effect resolves.

Weaknesses

However, since with activated effects the deck can only protect from targeting effects, any form of non-targeting removal or crippling is deadly. Removing the Xyz Monsters from the field without sending them to the Graveyard prevents rankup cards that revive from the Grave from being used to make a comeback; banishing in particular is very problematic, as the archetype has few ways to recover them.

To allow the Xyz Monsters of every Rank to be included, Extra Deck space is highly limited – 3 each of the base Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon and supportive Vapour-Eyes Absolute Dragon already leaves only 9 slots, and with the 7 other Ranks of Lightning Dragons, only 2 free for other duplicates or tech picks. This can leave the deck rather fragile, as rankup chains could be broken.

For instance, if a Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon is Summoned, and then ranked up into a Rank 10 Lightning Dragon, but that Monster is banished, and we have no other Rank 10 Lightning Dragons in the Extra Deck (due to lack of duplicates), rankup cards that rankup by +1 would not be able to rankup from Vapour-Eyes Lightning Dragon.

Trivia

• Vapour-Eyes and Vapour Rise are wordplay on ‘vapourise’.
• The prefixes in the names of Xyz Monsters follow a specific order.
  • ‘Dragon’ › ‘Neo Dragon’ › ‘Ultimate Dragon’ › ‘Neo Ultimate Dragon’
• There are several pairs of rankup cards that share similaritys.
  • Lightning Rise and Neo Evolution both have recursability.
  • Vapour Rise and Lightning Arc Rise both rankup from the Grave.
  • Lightning Ascension and Ultimate Evolution both rankup by 2 Ranks.
  • Lightning Arc Rise and Ultimate Evolution both prevent responses.
• This archetype was created really only to satisfy my childish love for creating totally overpowered cards, as well as giving them ridiculously long and awesome names.
  • This is reflected in their highly inflated stats and Ranks (especially the Rank 13 Neo Ultimate Vapour-Eyes Arc Lightning Dragon).
  • The effects seem very powerful, and can be very powerful, but are easily played around – despite its high consistency, the deck has plenty of other weaknesses.